One

When I moved here, I had no idea I would end up living next to somebody who made my life a misery. But that’s exactly what happened. First, I just ignored the noise and the mess, but the man’s behaviour started affecting my life so negatively that I decided to talk to him. He seemed very understanding, but things took a turn for the worse, so I decided to take further steps. I wrote a letter to him threatening to get in touch with the Environmental Health Officer. In the letter I also informed him that he could be fined heavily. It seems to have done the trick. At least for now. I want to encourage everyone to get to know their legal rights if they find themselves in such a situation. It really gives you confidence when you know how to handle troublemakers who are ruining your life.

Two

Woman: So far we have always cleaned our offices ourselves, but I think it’s high time we hired some professional help.
Man: You may be right, but that would mean higher maintenance costs and we can’t afford it.
Woman: But our computers are a magnet for dust and dirt. And so is the furniture. Experts say that a pleasant work environment increases productivity. We want people to enjoy coming to work, don’t we? Besides, what kind of impression are we making on our clients?
Man: But not many people actually visit our office.
Woman: Well, that’s true, we deal with clients mostly online.
Man: Do we really need to pay someone to do something we can do ourselves?

Three

Man: The first bicycle path made of recycled plastic bottles and packaging has finally been made available to cyclists. It is part of a scheme aimed at reducing the negative impact of human activity on the environment. The path is the result of cooperation between engineers and an oil-and-gas company. It has certain advantages, for example a durability that is three times greater than usual and sensors which monitor the temperature of the path’s surface. However, some doubts have been raised by a number of green activists. They are warning that small particles of the plastic could find their way into the environment, particularly in high temperatures, so we might have another problem to deal with in the decades to come.